Reviews of Yacht Club Resort (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by Chrisgriz Review Date: 10/09/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We stayed at Yacht Club the end of August for the 4th straight time and we would not stay anywhere else. The staff is wonderful and friendly. We were given a wonderful upgrade to our room upon arrival and the magic just grew from there. The housekeeping crew did everything imaginable to meet our needs and special (allergy) requests. We enjoyed the club level immensely. We had breakfast their every morning except for one (we had Crystal Palace reservations). The food choices were wonderful and always maintained and replenished. The snacks and appertizers were also delicious and plentiful. We always feel like part of the family when staying at YC and have built some lasting relationships with some of the cast members either at the front desk or at the Captian's Grill Restaurant. Upon check-out, we made a point to tell the front desk manager what a "out of this world" vacation we had. He said that we made his day. I said that the Yacht Club jusy made our family's week. Thanks Yacht Club..see you next time.
Pros:
Wonderful Staff and Great LocationCons:
NoneReviewed by MouseBound4 Review Date: 10/28/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
Just returned from a stay at the Yacht Club. We have previously stayed at the Beach Club but this was our first stay at the Yacht Club. The rooms seemed identical to us, but the common areas were a little different. The common areas in the Yacht Club seemed a bit more upscale. The gift shop at the Beach Club is much larger and nicer, while the Yacht Club gift shop is smaller and carries more upscale merchandise.
The common areas and our room were very clean the entire stay. The carpets looked new and the paint looked fresh. The beds and pillows were very comfortable, much more comfortable than usual hotel beds. We had two beds and one day bed. Our “garden view†room actually looked out into a courtyard and looked over the lake as well. It was a perfect location. An easy walk to everything.
The pool was great. It was closely guarded to make sure only Beach Club and Yacht Club guests used it. There were a few small organized activities for the kids at the pool (ring toss, etc.). There were organized activities on the beach most nights... family movies and a popular “campfire†with marshmallows to roast. This was a nice touch. We enjoyed the pool bar and restaurant but wish they would stay open later, since food choices at the Yacht Club are extremely limited. There are no fast service food options at the Yacht Club at all. (You have to walk next door to the Beach Club and get items from their store.)
The main draw of the Beach Club and Yacht Club is the location, as indicated elsewhere on All Ears. We rode to EPCOT on the boat and walked to the Boardwalk one night for dinner. My sister’s family, who traveled with us, had a very long wait (over 45 minutes) for the arrival of a bus to take them to Typhoon Lagoon. Then it took another 45 minutes for the bus to get them to the water park because it first stopped at other resorts and Downtown Disney. I am glad we chose to drive!
The only real problem we experienced was with our room assignments. We had requested adjoining rooms and had made plans and packed accordingly. When we checked in, we were assured my sister had already been assigned the room next to us. But by the time they checked in a few hours later, the room had inexplicably been assigned to someone else. Her family, tired and hungry from a long day in the parks, had to wait for hours to get the situation remedied. To the hotel management’s credit, they were able to resolve the issue thanks to another very nice guest who agreed to change rooms. The manager was very nice throughout the ordeal and we thanked him sincerely.
I would highly recommend both the Yacht Club and the Beach Club.
Pros:
Attractive resort, very clean, excellent locationCons:
—Reviewed by TRAVELPOP99 Review Date: 12/09/2013
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
SPENT THE LAST WEEK HERE.....VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH HOTEL.....WE STAY AT THE DELUXE RESORTS TWICE A YEAR FOR THE LAST 8 YEARS....THIS WAS THE LAST ONE WE TRIED AND WERE VERY VERY DISAPPOINTED..NEVER STAY HERE AGAIN....VERY RUN DOWN FOR A DELUXE HOTEL......
Pros:
LOCATIONCons:
DIRTY,INDIFFERENT STAFF,LONG BUS WAITSReviewed by Brine6415 Review Date: 02/09/2014
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
For starters we are a family of 4 with 2 boys, ages 4, and 6 months. This is our second trip to Disney with our 4 year old. We stayed for 5 nights and 6 days at the Yacht Club. 3 of those nights were paid for by me, and the remaining 2 were on a Disney Resort credit that we received after our last stay at the Wilderness Lodge 2 years ago. Most of our issues during our last stay were as a result of construction going on at the Wilderness Lodge. (Im sure that review is still buried in my profile if your really interested)
For whatever reason Disney was unable to join the resort credit reservation with our other reservation and this caused some minor problems during our stay. This also caused us to receive 2 sets of magic bands and 2 sets of magical express tickets with one end open on each reservation.
We arrived fairly early on Monday and went inside to check in. I was immedaitely impressed with the decor and cleanleness of the lobby. The scent that they are pumping through the lobby was fresh and not overwhelming. The staff was very attentive and helpful. While waiting to check in I was brought over to the Concierge desk by an employee to expedite the check in as there was a line at the regular check in desk. The guy who checked us in (Mike) was extremely nice and very creative. He was, however new to that resort and didn’t know where anything was which made the total check in time approximately 30 mins. We had pre requested a ground floor room during the online check in and were told one was available.
When the check in was over we were told that the room we had been assigned was ready for us however it had not updated in their system so our magic bands would not work to let us in the room yet. We were then told to call the front desk after 15 minutes to check on the status of our magic bands / room keys. We were then let in by a bell hop. Approximately 15 mins later I called the front desk to see if “Their system had updated†and the person on the other end of the phone had no idea what I was talking about. They tried to figure it out but I was inevitably transferred to another person who I had to explain the story to again.
The room itself appeared to be clean and well maintained and besides a gigantic dead mosquito on one of the beds. We didn’t see any issues until we pulled back the curtains and walked outside. When we went outside on the patio we immediately noticed that we were directly in front of the adult pool which was under construction. I’m not sure why Disney chose to overlook this detail with our reservations. We were staying on a resort credit that was given to us largely in part to a massive amount of construction that was going on during our last stay. And here we were again with a nice fresh view of some lovely construction. I then called the front desk and asked for another room. I was told that one was ready and we were moved to room 1085.
Upon switching rooms we found our new view to be exceptional as it had lovely views of the courtyard and water. The room was clearly an older one as the carpet was worn, the AC unit controls appeared to be from the 70’s. We also noticed a strange musty smell in the room which I chalked up to the ac being off and the room sitting unoccupied for a while. We then laid our kids down for naps and waited for our luggage to arrive. 3 hours later our luggage had still not arrived and I called the bell hops. They then advised me that our luggage had been sent to our first room and was waiting in there. They then advised that they would go an retrieve it for us. This again was a lack of attention to detail on Disney’s part and I wasn’t all that happy that our luggage had been sitting in a room that someone else could have had access to for at least 2 hours.
After a few minutes in the new room I noticed that one of the light fixtures above one of the beds was missing its knob, exposing the plastic. Due to the design of the room this was very noticeable and quite frankly unacceptable for a $420 dollar a night hotel. I then mentioned this to a the bell hop that brought us our luggage and was advised that it was going to be taken care of. When we returned that evening the knob was still missing. The next morning I walked to the front desk and spoke to a manager who advised me that he was going to take care of it right away. This didn’t happen, and that evening when we returned to the room the knob was still missing. I then returned to the front desk and spoke with another manager for the now third time. A few minutes later a maintenance guy showed up and fixed the knob.
In addition to the knob I also noticed that the room had significant rust on some of the metal fixtures in the bathroom and a bunch of tangled wiring from lamps and other items in the room, visible on the floors between the furniture. The fridge was also unplugged and I had to move the entertainment stand to plug it in. There was also visible trash in the mulch directly in front of our patio to include a wine cork, a cigarette butt, and several small pieces of white paper. Again a significant lack of attention to detail on Disney’s part.
When we went out to hit the parks the following day I noticed some water damage in the ceiling outside of our room. There also appeared to be mold growing on the ceiling as a result. I then noticed it was in multiple sections of the ceiling as we walked down the hallway. This is, point blank, UNACCEPTABLE. I can deal with having to plug in a fridge or some rust on a fixture in central Florida but water damage and mold? Really Disney. For $420 a night???
During the remainder of our stay things didn’t get much better in regards to the hotel. The room continued to smell musty and got so bad that we had to open the patio door to get fresh air in the room on a daily basis. When the maid came in to clean the room, not much cleaning was done as the carpet was never vacuumed and some of the glasses we got one day had a nasty looking white spuge on them which I hope was undissolved dishwashing detergent. Also the maid forgot to replenish our ice bucket liner and I had to call and request one.
During the end of our paid stay we received phone messages and a letter advising us to please come to the front desk and arrange our Magical Express Transportation. I had to go the front desk once again, to make sure they understood that we had 2 reservations and that we were not leaving and wanted to stay in the same room. This was finally addressed but almost everyone I spoke with appeared unfamiliar with a Disney resort credit and was unclear how to proceed. Furthermore once we had checked out of our first reservation and into our second I received a phone message asking me to come to the front desk and provide them with a credit card for the second reservation. I had already done this online and they also had my card from our first reservation. Yet another lack of attention to detail.
However I’m glad that I didn’t respond to this request as when we went to check out on our last day there they handed me a bill for $202 Dollars. When asked what this was for the clerk couldn’t explain it and had to go in the back to check with a manager. She then returned to tell me that it was the taxes and fees for our last 2 nights. I then explained to her that those nights were on a Disney resort credit and that there should not have been a bill for anything. I then had to provide the letter I received from Disney in regards to the resort credit. Thank the lord I didn’t provide them with another credit card and they weren’t smart enough to use the one from my first reservation or this amount would have been charged to my card. Another huge lack of attention to detail and yet another issue I and to deal with while on vacation. I was finally told that the charges would be taken care of.
My final complaint about this resort comes from the convention center located in the middle of the Yacht and Beach Clubs. I understand that convention business has to be a huge source of revenue for Disney but the last thing I want to see on vacation is a bunch of suits clogging up the front lobby discussing business deals throughout the entire day. This place was so busy with conventions that I don’t think there were many other families staying there at all.
I’m not quite sure why Disney can’t have a separate lobby / meeting area for these convention guests and coordinate their room assignments to be in the same area and away from the families who are trying to enjoy some of the so called “magicâ€.
To sum it all up we had a good time enjoying the parks and other attractions at Disney. This resorts pool is amazing and is easily its greatest feature. The grounds of the resort are also maintained very well and a pleasure to look at however, I can not get over the lack of attention to detail on Disney’s part regarding the rooms and reservations I paid a significant amount of money to stay for the 3 nights that I paid for, a dining plan, 5 days of park tickets, and countless other items that were purchased at the resort and parks. The experience we had with the rooms was unreal and I can’t believe that this level of negligence exists at a so called Disney "Deluxe" Resort. I expected a magical experience and what I really got was anything but. No folded Mickey towels in the room after day 1, no anything consistent with a $420 dollar a night room at Disney World. I'm not an unreasonable person this is just poor, poor, management, and service at a place that is supposed to be known for its level of service. What a shame.
Pros:
Grounds are BeautifulCons:
Rooms are terribleReviewed by Kmb261 Review Date: 02/13/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
My family of 4 stayed 2/1/14 - 2/8/14. This is our third time staying at the YC. My daughters who are 9 and 11 love this resort. We have stayed at all levels of Disney resorts and the YC is now our favorite. We enjoyed a few days swimming at Stormalong Bay and had a great time. My daughters would disappear together in this massive pool area and never wanted to leave.
We were upgraded from a standard view to a water view. We could view Illuminations from Epcot every night while sitting on our balcony. It was a great way to end most evenings. The rooms were a perfect size with 2 queen beds and a daybed. It was nice that my daughters each had their own bed. The room was cleaned everyday but we never had any towel animals on this trip. Not a big deal. The fridge kept everything cold and the heat and AC worked fine.
The biggest reason we love this resort is its location to Epcot and HS. The back entrance to Epcot is never crowded and the cast members are always very friendly at this gate. It is less then a 10 min. walk to Epcot and a 10 min. boat ride to HS. Getting to MK,AK and DTD you need to take a bus. Buses usually came very quickly. One time we had to wait over 30 mins. for a bus to MK in the late afternoon.
I would agree with the previous post about the convention people sometimes filling the lobby and being loud. It's not a huge issue but it does take away from some of the Disney magic. The other issue is no QS options at the YC besides Hurricane Hanna's. The selections are limited and it closed at 6pm every night of our trip. I know it stays open later in the summer. We did take a boat over to Boardwalk and had dinner at ESPN club one night.
The Fastpass+ worked great for all our dining and ride reservations. We were also selected to use fastpass+ for BOG lunch. We did not have to replace a ride fastpass to use the BOG fastpass as I have read in different posts. My family and I think the new fastpass system is a great addition to Disney. We were able to go to parks later and still get on all the main attractions.
Overall we had another wonderful stay at the YC and can't wait for our next trip.
Pros:
Grounds,Pool,view from room, locationCons:
No quick serviceReviewed by miketp Review Date: 06/11/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
Let me start off by saying that the Yacht has been our favorite resort. We have stayed at other Disney resorts but have always preferred the Yacht. We stayed here during Star Wars Weekend 4. It appears that cost cutbacks have reached the Yacht the bar near the lobby was supposed to open at 4 but when I stopped for a cold drink after a hot day I was told it was closed due to staffing problems but I could go to the Crew's cup Lounge. They sell the cups for unlimited sodas but there is no place in the Yacht to fill them during off hours. The bar will only fill at breakfast and not during the evening. You have to walk to the Beach Market to fill. Before we checked out I stopped at the Concierge desk to check on getting discounts for booking a room for next year. The woman gave me a brochure which only covered 2014 and told me to call Disney. Our room had a musty, mildew smell when we entered for the first time and we discovered there was only one queen size bed for the two of us. In the past we had either two queens or a king, needless to say it was very cozy. We still love the Yacht but hope it recovers its charm. It is so convenient to EPCOT and H. S., we walk to both. Also the Boardwalk is a 5 minute walk.
Pros:
location quietCons:
service has declinedReviewed by Mamabears1 Review Date: 07/20/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
Love this hotel. Friendly cast members and clean hotel. Can't wait to stay again.
Pros:
The Yacht Club is awesome. This was our second time staying there. The rooms are clean and well taken care of. We noticed a problem after out first night there. The caulk on the sink was dirty and coming loose. The towel rack in the sink area was cCons:
NoneReviewed by Pat and David Review Date: 09/27/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
We were welcomed as we pulled up in the drive to unload by a young man with his computer asking if we were the **** family. He escorted me right inside where a young lady promptly registered us, welcomed us, gave me all sorts of info and directions. Registration was painless and took less than 10 minutes even with all the info. Then we were on our way. We went out the back door to get to Epcot. The walk to Epcot is not long at all, really less than 10 minutes. You will enter Epcot on International Walkway which is between France and UK. A good landmark to spot the walkway is the World Traveler shop just off the walkway. You can continue straight through Epcot to catch the MK mono, but honestly, the buses leave every few minutes from the main entrance to the Yacht Club. We never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus. The hotel let me know when the room was ready but we did not worry about getting there until we were so tired we had to leave. Once inside the hotel, we left our luggage info with the porter and before we could unlock our door (we got lost inside - hotel is huge) he was there with our stuff.
One thing I think the hotel should do is have a small info sheet inside the room letting people know where they can use their meal plans. After we were getting ready to leave, we learned we could have used a quick service at the Beach Club Marketplace. (They could have told me this, but I forgot.) A small sheet of paper inside listing hours, places would be so helpful. Other than the long walk to fill the mug, I really have no negative things to say about this resort. The view is lovely, the grounds are spotless, the people knowledgeable, the pools beautiful, and I would stay here again.
Pros:
Beautiful location, large rooms nicely decorated, very helpful employeesCons:
only one - when Hurricane hannahs is closed, it is a long walk to market place to fill mugReviewed by Imjustababyduck Review Date: 10/01/2014
Rating: (6) Recommended
We stayed at the Yacht Club for the first few days of our trip (and then switched to The Boardwalk Inn). The Yacht Club certainly has a more deluxe feel to it -- from the lobby to the pool.
We arrived later in the evening on our first night and our room was a LONG way from the front of the hotel (and that was the only way out). We had to walk to the end of 3 extremely looooong hallways to reach our room. It was an unbelievably long walk and a depressing way to both start and end your day. I would rather pay more for a room and be in a smaller hotel. Along those same lines, the parking situation was untenable for this hotel. Your only real choice was to pay $20.00 per day to valet. That is not the way I would prefer to spend my money. If you are going to make a hotel that large, you should have parking to accommodate the guests. This wasn't simply a matter of the lot being far away; it was a matter of the lot being a fraction of the size it needed to be (and, it was far away as well).
Our room was clean (as was the entirety of the hotel). We enjoyed the luxurious feel of the hotel, although that wore thin on those LONG walks to the room.
The pool was amazing. It is huge and perfect for kids. It is shared with the Beach Club, but it never seemed to be too crowded. The slide started across the wide walking pathway and the kids (and adults) seemed to love it. The pool is very well done.
We did not use housekeeping (personal preference), but our room was clean when we arrived. Some of the things in the room appeared a little worn, but we don't spend much time in the room so this didn't bother us as much as it might others.
I would stay here again.
Pros:
Close proximity to two parksCons:
Really, really big hotelReviewed by BSG0075 Review Date: 08/21/2015
Rating: (9) Recommended
Arrived on back 1/2 of vacation after 4 nights at All Star Music. Was suprised with upgrade from Std. View to Water view. Ended up with view of both EPCOT and H/S fireworks,as well as the Boardwalk lights. We lost A/C and Hot Water when a nasty storm rolled through, but room stayed comfortable with balcony door open. Many were complaining and wanting something free... A little far from the pool, but not too bad. One thing was the lack of a digital thermostat, which made it a little tough to keep the room comfortable (AS Music had digital). We have stayed at Beach Club before, but the discount was bigger at Y/C. I was worried because it seemed stuffy compared to Beach Club. It was quieter, but not stuffy at all. Staff was great. No towel animals from mousekeeping though...
